21/11/15 : On Saturday Mendip’s season hit crisis point with a defeat against fellow strugglers Bridgwater A, leaving them rooted to the bottom of the Central 2 table. However, it was not so much the result itself but the manner in which Mendip surrendered that was the cause for concern as the importance of the match seemed to affect the whole team and they appeared tense throughout the match.
The tone was pretty much set in the first 60 seconds as Mendip immediately found themselves on the back foot and the hosts were awarded a short corner much to the total bemusement of the entire Mendip defence. Mendip survived the early scare but could not settle into any sort of rhythm whereas Bridgwater were a well drilled team who were playing with a lot more freedom. Mendip were just not able to string together any meaningful passages of play during the opening phase of the match and when another short corner presented itself to the hosts, this time they did not spurn the opportunity to go a goal up.
Now Mendip’s injury problems and selection woes have been well documented and whereas one would not wish to use that in mitigation of a poor performance the once steadfast and reliable defence has become somewhat of a liability and they were once again all at sea for the 2nd goal as players were allowed to run free and tackles were missed. Even the Mendip midfield were not their usual phlegmatic selves and although one cannot fault the team’s effort and industry there was an edginess to their play and all too often the moves broke down without causing too much concern to the opposition.
As the match went on Mendip’s play became more and more fragmented as they tried increasingly to force things to happen rather than relying on their inherent ability and with misplaced passes going astray possession was handed over far too cheaply, thus putting unwanted pressure on the already beleaguered defence who succumbed once more before half time resulting in a 3 – 0 deficit at the break.
Mendip were much better organised in the 2nd half, taking the game to Bridgwater during the opening exchanges and when Steve scored an early goal Mendip sensed that a fight back might be on. However, that thought soon ebbed away when the hosts converted their 4th goal and Mendip’s fate was effectively cast.
Although Mendip definitely played better in the 2nd half, all too often there was not enough width to stretch the opposition and when they did manufacture an attacking move more often than not they could not find that all important pass in and around the D to cause maximum damage.
All in all this was a disappointing performance in such a crucial match but based on the season so far it has to be said it was completely out of character and can only be put down to a bad day at the office.
Man-of-the-match was Josh Sutton who worked tirelessly in the centre of midfield against all the odds.
The team was: Leigh Taylor, Ben Beechener, Giles Denning, Andy Flint (Capt.), Toby Green, Oli Beechener, Will Lawton, Josh Sutton, Liam Young, Pete Waddington, Steve Smith and John Lippiatt.
Comments are closed.